Materials

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Earthquake Testing on Cold-Formed-Steel Buildings

Using massive moving platforms and an array of sensors and cameras, Johns Hopkins structural engineers are trying to find out how well a two-story building made of cold-formed steel can stand up to a lab-generated Southern California quake. The testing is taking place at the University at Buffalo's earthquake engineering research center. The results are expected to lead to improved nationwide building codes that will make future cold-formed steel buildings less expensive to construct than current ones. In earthquake-prone regions, these code updates should help structural designers and builders reduce the likelihood of a costly and life-threatening building collapse.